The present invention relates to an incise material suitable for use in surgical procedures. More specifically, the incise material is a two layer structure which has a removable top layer to facilitate suturing of an incision upon completion of a surgical procedure.
Many of today's surgical procedures involve the use of an incise material. An incise material is usually a clear polymeric film with an adhesive on one side which is in turn covered with a release paper. Two suppliers of incise material are the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company and T. J. Smith and Nephew Ltd. Examples of incise material can be found, by way of example only, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,310,509; 4,323,557; 4,452,845; Re. 31,886 and Re. 31,887. Most typically incise material is used in connection with towels or surgical drapes to maintain the surgical area as clean and sterile as possible to help reduce the risk of postoperative infection. Once the surgical area of the patient has been scrubbed and treated with a bacteriostat, the surgical site is squared-off by the use of sterile towels or a surgical drape which has a fenestration of a size which is larger than the expected size of the incision. An incise material is then used to cover all or a portion of the patient's skin left exposed by the towels or the fenestration in the surgical drape or mainsheet. Some surgeons prefer to use incise materials which themselves have fenestrations which are only slightly larger than the incision area. Other surgeons prefer to use incise materials which completely cover the incision area with the incision being made directly through the incise material. In either case, to apply the incise the releasable backing is removed and the adhesive side of the material is applied directly to the skin of the patient. One purpose in using the incise material is to help reduce the migration of germs and bacteria to the incision site. This is because, despite the cleansing of the skin, the pores still contain additional germs and bacteria which can migrate to the surface as the skin is moved and worked during the course of the surgical procedure. By covering the skin, it has been found that this migration can be reduced.
When an incise is used which completely covers the incision area the surgeon will cut right through the incise material attached to the skin. In this manner the amount of exposed skin surrounding the incision is minimized. A problem arises, however, when it comes time to close the incision. At this point the incise material directly surrounding the incision must be peeled back so as to expose sufficient skin for the suturing procedure. This process of peeling the incise back is, at the very least, a time consuming and annoying process. Because of this problem, some surgeons elect to use the above-described fenestrated incise material to eliminate the need for peeling back the incise material. This, however, is often a compromise decision since, in using a fenestrated incise material, more skin is exposed about the incision site thereby increasing the risk of bacteria and germs making their way to the incision and causing infection.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an incise system which will allow the surgeon to cut directly through the incise material while at the same time permitting easy exposure of the skin about the incision when it comes time to close the incision. This and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent upon a further review of the following specification, drawings and claims.